Basted BBQ Chicken Salad with Cilantro Ranch Dressing

I made this salad last week and couldn't get enough of it. I told everyone about how amazing it was. And then they asked for the recipe... so I had to be on top of things and actually post about it. 

This salad is so delicious! And easy, you probably have most of the ingredients right now. You should make it for dinner tonight. And then tell all of your friends and they will want the recipe. 

We start with the chicken. If you don't have good chicken, you can't have an amazing salad. Now, if you are scared to try new things, go ahead and just grill the the chicken. But if you are brave and daring, try this way. It is called "basting" and it makes moist, flavorful chicken in only 45 minutes. You season and bake the chicken for 20 minutes and then brush on BBQ sauce every 4 minutes until it is done. A little bit of work? Yeah, but still worth it. 

You need the basics, the lettuce, tomatoes, avacados. Add some southwestern fun like black beans and corn. If you have tortilla strips, those would probably be great too. 

And then we get to the really good stuff. BBQ sauce and Cilantro Ranch Dressing! All that saucy goodness on those fresh veggies and yummy chicken. Dream come true!

BBQ Basted Chicken

Preheat oven to 350. Cut 3 chicken breasts in half and lay the 6 sections on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper/baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil or spray with pam. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, garlic and paprika. Bake for 20 min. Take out and brush your favorite BBQ sauce on each piece every 5 min. After 5 or so brushes, take chicken out and chop into bite sized pieces. 

Salad

1 head romainne lettuce, chopped

2 roma tomatoes, chopped

2 avacado, chopped

1 can corn, drained

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

tortilla strips 

Sauces

BBQ sauce

Cilantro Ranch: Combine the following in blender: 1 cup mayonaise, 1 cup milk, 1 packet/3 TBSP Ranch Dressing Mix, 1 bunch fresh cilantro. Thicken with mayo or thin with milk as desired. 

Honey Almond Chia Seed Pudding with Strawberries

I first had this little guy at a work retreat.  One of our chefs brought it as an example of a creative way to use a healthy grain. She gave a presentation about how to use quinoa in salads and incorporating millet and farro in soups and such. It was a cool presentation, but this visual aid was my favorite. And the best part? It is so stupid easy to make. 

Chia seeds do this really cool thing when they get wet. They expand and form a jelly like coating that instantly thickens whatever they were added to. I love them in my smoothies or you can even add them to plain water. They remind me a bit of tapioca, so if you are not a tapioca pudding fan, you probably wont like this. Just a heads up. 

And like with most of my recipes, it is easily adapted to fit your dietary needs and taste preferences. But here is how I made it, and it turned out delicious. 

Ingredients:

1 cup Honey Greek Yogurt (I recommend Greek Gods brand)

3/4 cup Vanilla Almond Milk (unsweetened)

2 Tablespoons whole chia seeds

1/2 cup sliced strawberries

1 Tablespoons honey

2 Tablespoons sliced/slivered almonds

Directions: 

Combine yogurt, milk and chia seeds in bowl. Mix well and let sit for 10 min. In a separate bowl toss strawberries and honey and let sit. When ready to serve, spoon pudding, strawberries and almonds in to a bowl, parfait style if you want. Enjoy!

One Tasty Salad

Do you remember when you used to go play at a friends house and you were there around dinner and so the mom would invite you to stay? And then you would have to borrow the phone (house phones of course) and call your mom and ask if you could stay for dinner. Good times.

This recipe reminds me of eating at my childhood friend's house. They used to have this salad at almost every meal. To be honest, it was good, but not my favorite as a kid. But as I got older and wiser, I really came to love it. What really makes this salad is the dressing. It is simple, easy to adapt to your tastes and very healthy. Give it a go.

Salad:
1 head Red or Green Leaf Lettuce (chopped)
1- 2 tomatoes, large dice
1 avocado, sliced
1/8 red onion, thinly sliced

Dressing:
1 Tbsp lemon juice (FRESH!)
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp garlic salt
2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp black pepper

Collet Salsa

I had some really amazing friends growing up. They were sisters, which was cool. And we lived on the same street, which was convenient. And their dad made the most delicious salsa ever, which is awesome.

I got special permission to share the recipe, so enjoy!

Dallas Collet's Famous Salsa

1 large can whole, peeled tomatoes

1-2 serrano peppers, depending on desired heat

1/2 white onion

dash garlic salt

dash pepper

1/2 green bell pepper

1 bunch cilantro

1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice

Sometimes a little fresh garlic too

Dice (or food process) serrano, onion, bell pepper and cilantro very fine. Combine with tomatoes in blender and pulse or blend until deisired consistency. Add salt, pepper and lime juice to taste. 

Asian Lettuce Wraps

To finish off my kick of Asian recipes I bring you, P.F. Chang's inspired lettuce wraps. I have only been to PF Chang's once, and it was few years ago so I couldn't really tell you if these taste like the real thing. But I can tell you that these are delicious.

We start with this luscious, beautiful thing called Butter Lettuce. This particular lettuce came from our bountiful basket, courtesy of Jake and Richelle who picked ours up for us. Isn't it beautiful? I hear you can also use something called Bib lettuce.

We fill it with a tasty combination of chicken and mushrooms with a nice crunch of water chestnuts. This savory filling has been cooked to perfection with an assortment of asian spices and sauces.

Asian Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients: 

1 head butter lettuce (10 leaves)
1 pound ground chicken breast
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 Tablespoons minced garlic
2 Tablespoon soy sauce
4 Tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 Tablespoon fresh ginger
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar 
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 can (8 ounce size) sliced water chestnuts, drained, finely chopped
1 cup chopped mushrooms
2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil

Directions:

Rinse lettuce leaves, keeping them whole. Set aside to drain.

Cook chicken in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring often to break up the meat. Add onion, garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, vinegar and chili powder. Cook until the meat is crumbled and brown. Add water chestnuts and mushrooms.

Stir in sesame oil. Arrange lettuce leaves on the outer edge of a platter. Spoon meat mixture in center. 

Thai Chicken Noodle Salad

We have officially moved out of our old apartment! I would say that we have moved in to our new place, but I am holding off on declaring that until we have unpacked a few more boxes. Our living room currently looks like we are hoarders. I might post some before and after pictures. 

Luckily we have unpacked a couple of our kitchen boxes and I found some time to make one of my favorite recipes. It's an Asian inspired chicken salad with angel hair pasta and a super awesome dressing. I got the recipe from my mom who got it from a friend who cuts our hair. I love recipe sharing. And friends.

In other news, Matthew has been down to Moab twice this week (rescue missions both times). I never really like it when he is out of town, but because of our lack of TV combined with our lack of internet I got quite a few boxes unpacked. It's amazing how productive I become without technology. 

I hope everyone is enjoying summer as much as I am, if not you should make this salad. It is a perfect summer food. 
p.s. We are going to the Avengers tonight with Mark and Neeley! I will tell you what we think. 

Thai Chicken Noodle Salad 

 from Kristen Powell

4 chicken breasts, grilled and shredded or sliced thin 

1 lb angel hair pasta, cooked al dente

1 tsp sesame oil, toss w/ pasta after cooking

1 cucumber, sliced thin

Bean Sprouts

Green onions, sliced

Cilantro, chopped

Peanuts, chopped

Dressing – blend the following:

¾ cup rice vinegar

½ cup soy sauce

3 Tbsp sugar, (honey would work too)

2 Tbsp sesame oil

2 Tbsp minced fresh ginger

1 tsp crushed red pepper (or less if you don’t like the heat)

2-3 tsp minced garlic depending on your preference

Prepare ingredients and arrange in separate bowls.  Let everyone make their own salads – starting with the noodles on the bottom and topping with the dressing.  

* A note about ginger: it is from this friend that I first learned the wonders of frozen ginger. If you keep your ginger in the freezer, not only does it last much longer, but it makes it possible to zest the ginger/ grate it on a fine cheese grater. Try it, you will never mince ginger again.